Salmonella Tomatoes Without Borders

Ontario, CAThere certainly is something to be said in "buy local, eat local." The same strain of salmonella that has sickened almost 1,000 people throughout the US since April has made its way to Canada. Health officials confirmed that four Canadians were affected with the Salmonella saintpaul strain—and the source of the tomato salmonella outbreak still hasn't been traced.

In a news release, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada said that "Cross-border cases are expected given the size of the outbreak in the U.S., and travel by Canadians to the U.S."

And the outbreak is still under investigation, mainly because tomatoes travel. Even the FDA was surprised to discover the extent of which tomatoes actually travel due in most part to the practice of "repacking," in which suppliers or distributors repack boxes of tomatoes to fit customers' requests. That leads to tomatoes from various sources, domestic and imported, getting mixed together in the repacked boxes, making it hard to trace where the tomatoes have been and where the contamination may have occurred.

Even FDA investigators were surprised to find some American tomatoes arriving on American plates in a round-about way: they are picked, boxed and sent to Mexico for sorting and repackaging, even though the products bear stickers stating they were grown in the United States.

In the past few days, Federal health officials have been looking outside the tomato box—jalapeno and Serrano peppers, cilantro scallions and bulb onions are now possible suspects. Health agencies are also looking for "food items commonly consumed with tomatoes: fresh salsa, guacamole and pico de gallo or as part of tortilla fillings."

Meanwhile The FDA advises consumers to limit their tomato consumption to those not likely the source of this outbreak: still safe are cherry tomatoes; grape tomatoes; tomatoes sold with the vine still attached; and red plum, red Roma and round red tomatoes in states that have been cleared by the agency (a full list is on the FDA's website: 42 US states and 28 of 31 Mexican states have been cleared). And of course, tomatoes grown in your garden are safe.

On July 8, the FDA recommended that grocery stores, restaurants and food service operators offer only fresh and fresh-cut red plum, red Roma and round red tomatoes and food products made from these tomatoes only if grown and harvested from the areas not associated with the outbreak. As well, consumers are advised not be buy bruised or damaged tomatoes, and discard any that appear spoiled. When in doubt, confirm with your grocer where the tomatoes were grown. If they are advertised as 'local', ask about the source.